Four vs. six prongs

Date: 8/3/2005 9:39:36 AM
Author: sjz
From a lot of what I've read, 6 prong is supposedly more secure. I've read that you can loose a stone on a 4 prong setting if just one prong is bent or pulled loose, where it would take at least 2 if not 3 prongs to be bent or pulled loose on a 6 prong. I have stones set in both kinds, though, and both seem pretty secure to me.

Visually, I think it's a matter of preference. Often I think that a 4 prong setting can make a round stone seem 'squarish', and a six prong setting accentuates the roundness of a round stone. The prongs on a 4 prong also usually look thicker and more substantial, therefore more prominent. I'm sure that's for security reasons, but I've seen some really cool things done with substantial prongs, like having them fluted and shaped in unusual ways, or even having small surprise diamonds set in the prongs. A lot of the six prong settings I've seen have thinner more delicate looking prongs that don't stand out as much, showing off the stone a little more since the emphasis isn't drawn as much to the prongs.